Little White Lies
by ShinAyasaki
Summary: When it comes to relationships, honesty is the best policy. Or is it? Chika, You, and Riko demonstrate that a better policy is 'lie early, lie often'.


A cold autumn wind blew through the crowded streets of Numazu, a prelude to the chilly season's first snowfall. Flakes of white powder began drifting from the sky, a herald of the changing of the seasons and the return of winter. Outside, jackets were pulled just a little bit tighter and commuters hustled just a little bit faster, a small demonstration of the eternal conflict of man versus nature. It seemed nature would take this round, as the overhead clouds slowly added more and more to the gradually descending downpour, one that was forecasted to reach an accumulation of several inches of snow despite the best efforts of snowplows and the rock salt they left in their wake.

But for the three young women sharing a third-floor apartment on the outskirts of Numazu, none of that mattered. For the trio cuddled up together on the couch under a warm blanket and watching Netflix, the only thing that mattered was the celebration of their anniversary. And what better way was there to celebrate than by watching an animated romantic comedy film featuring two princesses piloting giant mechs as they fought aliens and fell in love while saving the galaxy?

As the credits began to roll, You reached for the remote and paused the screen, a serious look on her face.

"Hey, Chika-chan? Riko-chan?"

"What is it, You-chan?"

Under the curious stares of her lovers, the brunette squirmed anxiously as she prepared to say her piece. "We've been together for a while now, and... well... there's something I need to be honest about."

Chika and Riko exchanged a concerned glance. "What is it?"

"It's about how we got together..."

* * *

When You stepped into the apartment she shared with her two best friends after a late night out, she knew there would be a few things out of place. After all, Chika and Riko were celebrating their anniversary, and the brunette had offered them some space for their special evening.

So after returning home from an especially late karaoke outing with Kanan and the (former) first year trio, she wasn't surprised to see the mess they'd left behind. Taking it in stride, she threw out the burnt-down candles, washed the dirty dishes, and picked up the clothes her roommates had carelessly discarded in their rush to get to the bedroom.

But then she found them both asleep, naked and sweaty and and reeking of alcohol. In her room. On her bed.

You was understandably annoyed with this turn of events. As much as she loved her friends, this really needed to stop happening. Once was a mistake. Twice was an annoyance. Three times was just too much.

So You's brain hatched a clever little idea. "Sorry Chika-chan," she muttered as she stripped off all her clothes, "But I'm sleeping in my own bed tonight."

And after taking a sip of the leftover wine for plausible deniability, she clambered into bed next to the ginger, burying her nose in Chika's hair as she wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

The Next Morning...

"Oh my god! You-chan!" exclaimed Chika. "Did you-?! Did we-?!"

For her part, You nuzzled her face into Chika's back to hide her grin. "It was a magical night," she said, "Don't you remember?"

After several seconds of shocked silence, Chika and Riko stood up. "Excuse us for a second," said Chika.

The dating couple marched outside and closed the door. From her spot on the bed, You could just barely make out the sound of words being exchanged. She shrugged it off and turned over. It wasn't her problem.

The door soon opened and they came back in with matching smiles. "So... we have something we want to ask you," said Chika. She nudged Riko to step forward.

The redhead cleared her throat. "Um, You-chan... would... would you be interested in joining our relationship?"

* * *

"Huh," remarked Chika. "Well, at least it all worked out in the end."

"Oh yeah, definitely. Probably the best decision of my life," agreed You.

"I'm happy with it too," added Riko. "Though I suppose if You-chan's going to be honest, then I'd also like to be honest about something."

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Chika.

Riko looked down bashfully as she began to recount her tale. "Well... do you remember when you and I first started dating, and how we didn't have much time to spend together? I really wanted to make sure you were invested in our relationship, so..."

 _Flashback_

"Chika-chan, I'm pregnant and you're the father!"

 _End Flashback_

"What," deadpanned You. "There is no way that would actually-"

"What do you mean you're not pregnant?!" exclaimed Chika.

Riko looked away in shame while You literally tugged on Chika's ear to scold her.

"Oi! Baka-Chika! I was literally sitting next to you when Shima-nee and Mito-nee told us about the birds and the bees. How on earth did you believe a word of that?"

The ginger shrugged. "She said city girls did it differently."

Sighing, You just facepalmed.

"Please don't be too disappointed in Chika-chan," giggled Riko. "I got the in-depth explanation from one of my... um... favorite nature documentaries I found."

Chika and You exchanged a knowing glance. Even after all this time, Riko still tried to hide her interest in doujins. Which really didn't make any sense given that she'd literally started a business renting them out so others could get their fix of yuri. Their apartment was even above the storefront, a modest space filled with shelves of doujins and Blu-Rays, bearing the sign _Fifty Shades of Lily White_.

"Still," said You, "There are just some things you shouldn't be able to be duped into believing."

"What about me? I'm the one that was fooled!" exclaimed Chika. "Geez! I can't believe you'd lie to me about being pregnant! I feel so betrayed!" she wailed dramatically.

"Well, all may be fair in love and war, but at least our friendship isn't built on a lie, right?" said You encouragingly.

Silence reigned. The ginger pointedly looked away.

"...really?" deadpanned You. "How does that get ruined?"

* * *

Four-year-old Chika stumbled along one of Uchiura's local beaches, her little legs carrying her as fast as she could go with a wide smile on her face. Somewhere behind her, she vaguely heard her mother tell her not to wander too far, but Chika was set on being a little explorer.

As she stepped over the sand, she came across a small blue towel laid out across the beach. And on this towel was...

"Mikan!" cheered the little girl. Without another thought she reached down and snatched it up, tearing it open to get to the savory juiciness within as the peel fell to the ground, neglected.

Just then, another four-year-old girl ran up to the towel. She blinked in confusion as she looked around. "Hey, did you see a mikan around here?"

"...No," denied the ginger as she stealthily kicked some sand over the discarded peel.

You's face fell. "Aww... Oh well. I'm You! What's your name?"

"I'm Chika!"

"Nice to meet you! Wanna go play in the water?"

"Yeah! Let's go!"

* * *

"I feel so betrayed," deadpanned You.

"Well maybe you don't think it's such a big deal, but I'd be really annoyed if someone took my mikan!"

"We know," chorused her girlfriends.

The brunette sighed. "I think that's enough honesty for one night," she said.

"Yes, I think so too," agreed Riko, nodding. She stood and clapped her hands together cheerfully. "Anyway, shall we move onto the renewal of our vows?"

Both Chika and You froze up, stiff as boards. They exchanged a nervous glance as they suddenly remembered about that one small ritual of theirs that meant so much to Riko, one they did on every anniversary since they'd gotten together. One that had slipped their minds.

"...so it turns out, that wasn't enough honesty for one night," began You sheepishly. Chika said nothing but averted her eyes.

" _Both_ of you forgot?" asked Riko with disbelief and mild annoyance. "Our most important anniversary tradition and you both forgot?"

"We can probably ad-lib something?" offered Chika meekly.

Riko was not amused. "You're both sleeping on the couch tonight."

As the redhead stormed off, Chika sighed. "Man, honesty really is the worst policy."

 **~END~**


End file.
